The Fresh Apple

I forget every year just how good an apple tastes. A real apple. An apple that grew near you. An apple picked from an actual tree. An apple that drips juice on your chin and tastes like the rusty leaves, like the nippy wind, like the tart chill in the air.

Ru turning the press wheel.

Apple cider! At least in small quantity.

My boys wild apple picking with Big Grandpa (my dad) last fall.

I no longer buy oranges unless its the dead of winter and I think this year I'm done buying apples unless its fall. Yes, they are edible all year round but they become a bland, pale shadow of themselves, something that gets old so fast its hard to time it. I really love a good apple but every year when it is apple time I have to polish off my enthusiasm and convince myself to go apple picking because a whole year of completely pitiful, mediocre grocery store apples has stolen their thunder. I don't hate regular apples, they're edible I just don't actively like them either and they are so ubiquitous and so overdone that they completely steal the thunder of a real ripe tree fruit.

Wild Michigan apples come in a.....

....beautifully varied palette.

Our homeschool co-op plans field trips most fridays once the weather turns nippy. This week they planned a pint-sized, cider pressing instruction. Pretty darn cute! My little boys were big fans.  I think Ru would like a cider press for our backyard so that he could spend some time every day feeling really important, turning that big crank.

Fallen apples at one of our local orchards.

Red Delicious on the branch!

We don't really buy store-bought juice at our house but we do occasionally indulge in cider in the fall. (Especially if we can find it raw!) Cider feels more authentic to me than most juice. I fondly remember romping around as a little girl at chilly, annual cider pressings with our local congregation and also at least once as a deal split between two families sharing the sweet rewards of all the apple picking and the use of a borrowed press. I grew up in a place where there are wild apple trees on every corner. Getting fresh apples is as simple as harvesting them from an ancient roadside orchard or craggy wild tree down the nearest lane. Most of them simply go to waste although a few are gathered up for deer, bait piles for hunting season and never even tasted by a local human.

Big Grandma and Big Grandpa, my parents with Ru, after a wild apple ramble.

Here in Connecticut they are slightly harder to come by. I know where one wild tree is but mostly we pay money to be let into a cultivated orchard in counties north or east of us. I'm okay with that though, the fruit snaps when bitten and the flavors are nothing, nothing you can buy in May in the corner grocery store. 

Virtual Cooking Lessons: Eggplant Curry

Image via Wikipedia

Cooked quinoa

Thought I would share today a recipe from another blogger that I think is terribly delicious. Since we're vegetarian this month (reference this post for the details) the recipe I am featuring is obviously meatless.








Generally, I am striving for a main dish with substantive protein content (hello quinoa!). If you're doing the same (as I know many of you out there are joining me in my Veguary adventure) then you might consider serving this curry over quinoa or adding chickpeas for a little dose of protein-ating fuel.

Eggplants are scary to me. I didn't grow up eating them, and intimidated, yea even a little worried about the whole idea of experimenting with them. I had no idea how to cook with them until about a six months ago. I am still very much in the learning stage, trying to figure out what in the world to do with them and how they are prepared. This is a great step on the road.

Curry, however, is my friend. A recent friend but, one I now feel quite cozy with and part of my go-to repetoire for recipes. They are easy to throw together and like stir fry, are elastic in their ability to encompass any number of ingredients. Usually the curries I make have either a yogurt base (Indian) or a coconut milk one (Thai). This curry has Indian flavors and spices but, is dairy-free...a boon to those of you who are lactose intolerant. At first the idea of a curry with no creamy base sounded off-putting but, I got over it as soon as the onions were browning away in the small mountains of fragrant spices. Curry is fantastically easy, very forgiving and just the thing to add a little zip to your winter menu.

It feels like stew, from the tropics!

Eggplant Curry
Like most curries this recipe keeps well, and actually improves with time. If you have leftovers simply reheat the next day, re-check seasoning, adding more salt if needed and serve on freshly steamed rice. I like to use ghee (see recipe below) in curries for the authentic flavour it gives. It is lactose-free, but if you avoid dairy altogether simply use a neutral oil. I like to use whole cumin seeds, but by all means use ground cumin if that's what you have. Make sure you use regular brown onions in this recipe, red onions have a higher sugar content and tend to burn too easily in curries like this, where long, slow cooking is required.  Serves 4-6

2 medium eggplants 
3 Tbsp ghee/olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
2.5cm (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, grated (I keep a jar of ginger puree in my fridge...look in your produce department near the jarred garlic or else over near the veggie trays.)
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds/ground cumin
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne or a small pinch of chilli powder
1 tsp sea salt
 1 14oz can chopped tomatoes
a small handful of fresh cilantro leaves to garnish (optional)

Wash eggplants and dice into 1 inch cubes.

Heat ghee/oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring carefully for about 10 minutes until a deep golden brown colour. (Be patient and don't be tempted to rush this stage).

Add the ginger, crushed garlic, fennel and cumin seeds. Cook for about 2 minutes until garlic and ginger are fragrant. Add ground coriander, turmeric, cayenne/chilli powder and salt. Cook for 30 seconds. Add the diced eggplant and stir well to coat evenly with spices. Pour in the can of chopped tomatoes, give it a big stir, then place the lid on and continue to cook over low-medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. Check and stir a few times to ensure it's not catching on the bottom. Turn temperature down a little if need be.

When the sauce has thickened and the eggplant is meltingly soft, check the seasoning once more. Serve sprinkled with coriander/cilantro leaves over rice. Enjoy!

(this recipe is lifted almost exactly from the beautiful blog, my darling lemon thyme...a dizzyingly delicious place to visit if you have a moment)

Related articles

• 5 High Protein Vegetarian Recipes For Christmas (mademan.com)
• #1 Grain According to Readers is Quinoa! Check Out These Recipes. (eatdrinkbetter.com)
• Quinoa: versatile superfood (canada.com)

Virtual Cooking Lesson #2: Morning Glory Muffins

We did indeed get our blizzard last night, everyone's off school and work and out whooping in their driveways at the neighbors, flinging snow from shovels and winging snowballs at each other. We have had a steady stream of nice young men knocking on our front door, with snow shovels over their shoulders, looking for work. I hope they are finding work elsewhere because I keep turning them away so that Ru will be able to shovel the walk with his daddy tonight...the great longing of his heart. Cute little man.

I have been busy baking, cold, snowy weather almost demands it! So, we find ourselves in the middle of our second installation of Long Distance Cooking Lessons. I wordlessly took a month off in December but, fear not...the program is not dead. I just needed a breather, as did many of you...cooking is all very jolly in December without any assignments.

What we're baking today are: Morning Glory Muffins, a super classic recipe that has everything but the kitchen sink in it, is loaded with fiber and vitamins and tastes a bit like carrot cake for breakfast to boot. My boys say "Yum!" This variation comes from King Arthur Flour and has whole wheat flour and no pineapple although some variations have it. I have a mad love affair with muffins which, are often not such healthy items so this hits my sweet spot, so to speak.

Morning Glory Muffins

1/2 cup raisins
2 cups whole wheat flour or white whole wheat
3/4 cup of maple syrup (or honey)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups carrots, grated
1 large apple cored, and grated
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup sunflower seeds or wheat germ, (optional)
3 large eggs
2/3 cup olive oil, coconut oil or butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup orange juice or water

 

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or line it with papers and spray the insides of the papers.

To make the muffins: In a small bowl, cover the raisins with hot water, and set them aside to soak while you assemble the rest of the recipe. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, spices, and salt. Stir in the carrots, apple, coconut, nuts, and sunflower seeds or wheat germ, if using. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and orange juice. Add to the flour mixture, and stir until evenly moistened. Drain the raisins and stir them in. Divide the batter among the wells of the prepared pan (they'll be full almost to the top; that's OK).

To bake the muffins: Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes in their pan on a rack, then turn out of pans to finish cooling.

These muffins freeze well and also are great for snacks on-the-go and they are at their peak after a day or two of storage as the flavors just meld and marry with a little time to kill.